Blog 2

The second technology I chose to look at was paint! Painting in my centre is provided in different ways and forms, the paint we always have out is the paint in our easels, this is there all day until tidy up time. On the tables we set up various different ways of using paint.


Some examples are: we put paint in little pots with ear buds in instead of paintbrushes, we set up water paints with small paintbrushes, where children have to wet their paintbrushes to then use the paints. we have paint in trays that are provided with foam shapes or stamps for children to explore. These all range from a number of different colours and textures, some is standard poster paint, some is glitter paint, some metallic paint and we also have fluorescent paints. Children are constantly being exposed to the different ways in which we can use paint and the results they can get. Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996) states, “Children learn through play – by doing, by asking questions, by interacting with others, by setting up theories or ideas about how things work and trying them out and by the purposeful use of resources. They also learn by making links with their previous experiences. (p 82).


Each learning experience provides different learning outcomes for children, both for our younger children in the afternoon session and our older children in the morning sessions. For example, the 4 years prefer to have smaller brushes to do more intimate paintings to create pictures with details, however the 3 year olds like the big brushes and the foam shapes because it allows them to do big swishes and swirls and just explore the paper with the paint. They find the smaller brushes to frustrating to use mostly, they can't get enough paint on their page, it doesn't have the same effect. It's ok every now and again but generally the easels with the big paintbrushes and big paper are the favourite for the 3 year olds. So we make sure a range of different choices for children are available taking into account their age and stages. 


Children are constantly learning through painting, they are learning about different brush strokes and how these show up on the paper, they learn about how their work looks if they paint fast as opposed to slow, they experiment with different letters and numbers they know. Such as more or often than not they learn to write their name as this is something we try promote, so they can take responsiblity for their own art work, this in its self gives them a sense of achievement. They learn what works for them and what doesn't. They are learning new skills all the time. Painting allows children to learn fine motor skills and hand-eye co-odination whichever painting activity they choose to work with, this only increases further as they grow older, leading the pathway to school where they are required to hold pencils and such.


Children no matter what age and expressing themselves through paint, they are experimenting and seeing a cause and effect, they are learning to mix colours, they are learning about colours also. At my centre we provide mixing palettes, so children can mix the paints! Elkind, (2004). states that “We encourage true play by making certain we offer materials that leave room for the imagination – blocks, paints, paper to be cut and pasted and that children have sufficient time to innovate with these materials”  (pg.41). Painting allows children the freedom to create what they want, whether it be just lines, circles or a picture of a person or flower. They are learning how to be creative. To experience a range of different ways of expressing themselves. They learn what works and what doesn't. 


It is something they can look back on and be proud of, they can show it to people, it can lead to conversations about the picture, more importantly it gives them the chance to put meaning to it. Most importantly though it is fun for children! They get to do what they want on that paper, they decide the end result, even if it is just 3 lines on a page they are content with it, they had fun doing it, and the next day they may come and do 5 lines and so on until it leads up to a picture of something and so it goes on. Their learning is constantly being extended, their imagination becomes broader and eventually they get to see things in different ways. Each child is different in the way in which they define something. That is what makes it's so fun and leads to interesting conversations, there is no right and wrong! It helps builds up that child's self esteem knowing what the created is fine just as it is! There are no expectations.


The New Zealand Curriculum states, "In the arts, students learn to work both independently and collaboratively to construct meanings, produce works, and respond to and value others’ contributions. They learn to use imagination to engage with unexpected outcomes and to explore multiple solutions." (Ministry of Education, 2007).



Reference list.

Elkind, D. (2004). Thanks for the memory: The lasting value of true play. In D. Koralek. (Ed.), Spotlight on young children and play (pp.36-41). Washington: NAEYC.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: He Whariki matanga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.


Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.